Truth Be Told
by Paperclip-Assassin
Summary: Post 9x13 "A Desperate Man". Ziva wants answers from Tony, but she's not prepared for the inevitable changes the truth causes in their relationship.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, this is now officially the _InspirationWeekend_****. Two stories in two days after a month of nothing!**

**This takes place after 9x13 '_A Desperate Man_' and deals with Tony and Ziva's feelings. Not sure if I'll leave it as a one one-shot, so please leave me a review with your thoughts...I got some ideas how to continue this if you'd like me to.**

**_Disclaimer_: _Well, you might have guessed it already: I don't own NCIS or its characters. Happy now?_**

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><p>Ziva wasn't exactly sure how she'd ended up at his apartment building, but somehow she had and now there was no backing out. Because now she needed to know everything, wanted to understand why he'd acted the way he had. She turned the engine off and sat in her car's darkness for a minute, considering her options.<br>Option one: Just going up there and asking him for his reasons  
>Option two: Calling him first and making sure she wasn't interrupting any plans he might have<br>Option three: Backing out after all and driving home, although she knew that this wasn't really an option.  
>She settled on the first one, because her phone battery had died, or that's what she told herself. Reality was that she was just scared that he might turn her down if she asked him first before coming up. Wih a sigh she unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car. The winter air in D.C. was cold and she hugged herself to stay warm before crossing the road to his building. Pressing the buzzer, she prayed that he was alone.<p>

**...**

Tony was just going to take the last bite of his Pizza when he heard his buzzer. He got up, very slowly, and walked over to his door. Whoever was going to interrupt his drowning in misery and self-pity had to be patient. He just pressed the door opener, not caring whom he let in. After unlocking his door he went back to the couch, turning the volume of his new flat screen TV on mute. He didn't hear her enter but suddenly she stood next to him, looking down at him with an unreadable expression on her face.

"Hey", she said. It was merely a whisper.

"Hi" His answer was just as quiet. "What are you doing here?"

Her eyes darted around the room, not looking at him, and she seemed to struggle with herself about what to say to him. "Am I not allowed to visit a...friend?" he noticed the slight hesitation before the word 'friend', but blamed it on his all too enthusiastic heart. She had made it clar that they were only friends, nothing more, nothing less and even though he wanted nothing more than to change that, their friendship was far too important to him than to act on those feelings. The last time he'd done that she'd ended up in a terror cell in Africa.

"The real reason, Ziva." he insisted but when she finally looked at him again, he wasn't sure if he really wanted to hear what she had to say. She closed her eyes for the briefest of seconds before finally answering.

"Why did you help him?", she asked, looking him directly in the eye. He just stared at her in surprise. That wasn't what he had expected...

"Who?" he asked, though fully aware of whom it was that she meant. CI-Ray. He should've known that, of course. That subject wasn't closed yet.

"I know, you know whom I mean, Tony." Ziva hissed in annoyance. "Ray. Why did you help him with his...plans?" There it was again, the slight hesitation. if he hadn't known her so well he wouldn't have noticed. But if there was one person in the world that he could read then it was Ziva David.

"Because, Zee-_vah_, I'm a nice guy." he answered and flashed her a bright smile, trying to ease the tension. It didn't work. Instead Ziva sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and index finger in an attempt not to get angry with him. After a minute she seemed to have calmed herself a bit and finally took off the coat she was still wearing , tossing it on a chair. Then she sat down next to him on the couch. He gave her some space , but still stayed close. Ziva looked him directly in the eyes and her gaze made his stomach flutter as if he was a teenager all over again. Damn that woman!

"The real reason, Tony...", she finally repeated his earlier words to her. He was silent, not knowing if he should lie or tell the truth. "Please, I want to know why you acted the way you did.", Ziva pressed.

Tony let out a laugh. It wasn't a happy one. "No, I don't think you want to know, Ziva, really-"

"I would not have come, if I did not want to know.", she interrupted him.

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have come then." Tony said dryly, looking past her, out the window. Ziva got up, again angry and glared down at him.

"Maybe you are right.", she said and walked to the door, pausing with a hand on the doorknob. When he didn't say anything to hold her back she stormed out, throwing the door shut behind her and leaving Tony alone in his apartment.

**...**

The minutes ticked by and Tony didn't move an inch. He'd made her angry. Awesome. Why did every important conversation between them end up in a hideous fight over nothing? Although, this time it hadn't been nothing. It had been everything.  
>Why hadn't he just told her the truth? <em>Because he was a scared bastard, afraid of showing emotions and incapable of being honest with his partner about his feelings towards her<em>. With a sigh he got his phone from the coffee table and dialled her number. It was the only one he knew by heart and didn't need on speed-dial. When it went straight to voicemail, he threw his phone on the couch next to him. It bounced off and hit first the coffee table and then the floor. Tony flinched when he saw the huge crack in the display. Stupid modern technology crap.

With the option of calling her gone, he scanned the room for an excuse to drive to her place and apologize without sounding too desperate. His gaze fell on her coat which was still on the chair next to the couch and he grabbed it, glad that he'd found something, although he knew that he'd have gone anyway eventually, and left.

**...**

Ziva refused to go back up in his apartment when she noticed that she'd left her coat in there and just turned the car's heater on high. Once she felt warmer again she drove back home, occupying her mind with translating random stuff into Hebrew. With her style of driving she reached her apartment in less than ten minutes, breaking almost every traffic rule there was on the way.

When she was sitting in the living room she tried to read a book, but she couldn't focus on the words and put it away again. Sleeping wasn't an option either, because she was far too awake after her fight with Tony. What was it with this man that fascinated he so much? He was he was annoying, loud, frustrating and juvenile to no end.  
><em>And handsome and caring and he has your back<em>, a small voice in her head added. She let her head drop in her hands and let out a frustrated moan.

When she heard a knock at the door she refused to open up. He'd had the chance to talk, it was his fault that he hadn't used it. But then she heard the lock snap open and remembered the spare key she'd given him. She needed to change the lock now. Without a word he entered and closed the door behind him before he walked slowly towards her.

"You forgot your coat.", he stated softly and held the piece of clothing out to her. She nodded once and took it from his hand without looking at him. "And you didn't answer your phone."

She felt his gaze on her but, stubborn as she was, kept her eyes on the floor."Battery died.", she explained, expecting him to leave now. But when he showed no signs of doing so she had no choice but to look up at him. His eyes, that seemed to change colour depending on what he wore, were soft. Every hard edge they'd held earlier gone. It was more than she could take. "Please leave", she whispered.

"Zi, don't do this, you don't understand..." he begged, but she didn't leave any room for arguments. Instead she got up and shoved him towards the door. He didn't put up a fight.

"That is right. I do not understand. Not at all.", she said, her voice laced with anger again, and shut the door, barely missing his nose.

**...**

He leant his forehead against the closed door and stared down at his designer shoes. He'd really hurt her this time. And there was only one way to fix this again. The truth. He hadn't heard her moving away on the other side, so he guessed that she was still standing in her hallway, waiting for him to go away. If he was lucky she would listen.

"I wanted you to be happy.", he stated after taking a deep breath. "I knew you wanted something permanent and even though my gut was telling me that he was a bastard, he was the one who could give it to you." There came no response from the inside, but Tony continued anyway. "I didn't want to make the same mistake as with Rivkin, Ziva. You're too important to me for that. And I'm sorry that it didn't work out."

Suddenly the door opened and sent him stumbling into the apartment. He ended up losing his balance and landing on the floor. Ziva looked down at him. "And that is the only reason you helped him with his proposal?", she asked. Her voice was soft again, the anger gone. He was glad that he'd been honest at last.

"Yes." he said and got up again, trying not to groan too loud when he felt the pain in his back. When she raised an eyebrow at him he knew that he couldn't fool her. So he changed his answer. "No."

"What are you not telling me, Tony?" she asked, sounding really curious this time. Why couldn't she see? Gibbs saw it, Abby and McGee had a bet going on, heck, even Vance suspected something! Just the one person that needed to know was oblivious to his feelings. Or pretended to be, at least.

"Zi...", he whispered, taking a step closer to her and reaching out to touch her cheek. She turned away.

"No, Tony. I want you to be honest with me. Just this once."

"I...I can't Ziva!" His sudden outburst startled her and she took a step back. "I just can't!"

"I am tired of this!" she yelled back at him "Get over yourself and tell me why you helped Ray. I know it was because you wanted me to be happy, but why is it so important to you? What is it that makes you care so much? I do not get it, Tony, I-"

He silenced her by crashing his lips down on hers for the first time in almost seven years. Before she even knew what was happening her body responded and she eagerly started kissing him back. He pulled away too soon for both their likings.

"Tony...", she said.

"I hope that clears up some things..." Tony stated and turned, leaving her apartment in a hurry.

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><p><strong>Leave it at that or continue?<strong> **:**)

-Mistakes are mine...


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow. Just wow. I never dreamed of getting that much response to a One-shot! You people out there are amazing :D  
><strong>

**Since almost everyone voted for a second part, here it is! Although I'm not entirely happy with it.** **Partly** **because I don't really like the ending and partly because I just think that something's missing. Read the A/N at the bottom for more, because I don't wanna spoil the whole story with my rambling ;)**

**Disclaimer:_ I only own my thoughts..._**

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><p>When Tony strolled out of the elevator the next day he was trying really hard to pretend like nothing had happened. He couldn't believe that he'd just left after kissing her. How stupid was he? He should've waited for her to say at least something more than his name. But the fact that she'd kissed him back gave him hope. Maybe it was good that he left and gave her some time to think.<br>..._Or maybe it was really bad_, he thought when he saw Ziva torturing her computer's keys.

"Morning Tony", a very cheerful McGee called over from his desk, taking a bite off his Nutter Butter. Tony always wondered how many of those the younger man ate during a normal work day. It seemed like a lot.

"Morning McGee..." he called back, trying to sound as happy and flashing one of his smiles before he turned to Ziva with slight hesitation "...and good morning Ziva." His fake smile earned him a death glare in return. Still he kept it in place and sat down at his desk, his eyes never leaving her. "Not that much of a good morning so far?", he asked lightly. Ziva huffed in disapproval before she turned back to her computer screen, ignoring him completely.

"She's been like this since I came in.", McGee whispered with a frown "I don't know what's wrong.."

"You are aware that I can hear you, right?", Ziva said with an eye-roll. "And nothing is wrong. I am fine."

"Really?", Tony asked, not in the sarcastic way he usually would have, but in the low and serious way that showed that he cared. McGee cleared his throat and pretended to be awfully busy with something when he felt the tension between his two co-workers. Ziva just nodded once and before she could say anything Gibbs stepped out of the elevator.

"McGee! Vance wants you up at MTAC, someone tried to hack our system!", he called across the bullpen and McGee immediately jumped up to see the Director. Gibbs sat down at his desk and took a sip from his coffee, watching the intense staring battle of his agents for a moment before clearing his throat. "I hate to interrupt...", he said in a tone that indicated for his agents to stop whatever it was they were doing. Ziva was the first to tear her eyes away from her partner, looking somewhat irritated at her boss.

"We did not do anything", she stated.

"That's kind of the problem, David", Gibbs huffed "Are you being paid for staring matches or what?" Tony sighed mumbled a silent _'no boss'_ and turned his computer on before Ziva could even respond to Gibbs statement.

**...**

It was very quiet day at NCIS, leaving the team only with boring paperwork, which didn't help to ease the tension between Tony and Ziva. They did not exchange one word if it wasn't extremely necessary and even then the conversation was kept as short as humanly possible. By noon both, McGee and Gibbs, were sure that something was going on. Gibbs' gut was churning and when Tony disappeared to the bathroom and Ziva followed shortly after he knew that rule 12 had either already been or was shortly going to be violated. Of course he'd known that since his little chat with Tony on Christmas Eve.

**...**

Ziva opened the door a little bit too forcefully, barely missing Probationary Agent Wright, the newest member of a team working in the bullpen next to Team Gibbs'. He was surprised when he saw it was a woman who entered the men's room and just found a poor excuse to leave. Tony turned to look at Ziva with raised eyebrows.

"You kissed me!", she said in her most accusing manner, locking the door and leaning against it.

"Oh, right...I _knew_ there was something...",Tony hit his forehead with his palm as if he'd just remembered something important.

"Stop it with your jokes, Tony." Ziva glared at him and took a step in his direction. "You. Kissed. Me."

"Yes." He was serious now, knowing that he shouldn't push her any further, and leaned casually against the counter.

"Why?"

Silence filled the room as Tony tried to find the right words. "You wanted to know why I...cared so much", he said after seemingly an eternity. This was even harder for him than he'd expected it to be. "And I care...a lot." Her eyes softened the tiniest bit after his confession, but still her expression was far from friendly. She laughed a sad laugh.

"We can't keep doing this.", she said in a whisper. Before he could ask she explained. "Acting as if we were more than partners or friends. It is driving us apart."

"It doesn't have to Ziva." Tony's eyes shimmered with hope. She stared at him, clearly missing his point. He sighed and continued, pushing himself off the counter and taking a step towards her. "I was willing to die for you when we were undercover because you were my partner. I stayed with you when you defused that bomb and I did it as a friend." He paused shortly, taking a breath and fixed his gaze on the ground. "When I rescued you from Somalia, you weren't my partner and our friendship was pretty much ruined...So there had to be more." He peeked up at her and the confused look she wore told him that she still didn't get it, or tried really hard to play dumb.

"I do not understand.", Ziva said, shaking her head.

"Yes you do. And don't make me say the words, because I know you're not ready to hear them." Tony hadn't realised when exactly he'd come that close, but his chest was nearly brushing hers and he could faintly smell her perfume. "And I can see you feel it too, you know..." This came out as a whisper.

Ziva couldn't help but stare up into his eyes, looking for some kind of proof in them, something that showed her that he wasn't lying like Michael or Ray had. Of course she knew what he meant.

_Couldn't live without you...I guess._

These words, _his_ _words_, still rang in her ears whenever he looked at her the way he did now. As if she was his balance, holding everything that mattered. And she realized that _he_ was _her_ balance as well and that everything he'd said was true. That their intimacy wasn't driving them apart, but pulling them towards each other. Time after time, closer and closer.

And finally she understood what he so desperately tried to explain to her. Last night it had either been that kiss or three little words, that she'd heard just a little too often from another guy lately. And he was right that she wasn't ready to yet hear them again so soon. He just knew her so well.

Finally she found her voice again. "For how long have you been...caring ", she asked, avoiding the actual words like him.

"I don't know...for a long time." Tony gulped. "When Gibbs told us about the Damocles I was certain." Still that dreadful memory made his stomach turn upside down and his body stiffen. Ziva closed the almost non-existent gap between their bodies and put her arms around his waist. They hadn't hugged since the day she broke down in the elevator but still Tony's arms wrapped around her in an immediate response. It felt right to both of them.

"I care about you too." she whispered into his shirt.

"I know."

"But I will need a little bit of time...", she said, carefully looking up at him to see his reaction.

"I know." he repeated softly, tucking a lose strand of hair behind her ear and caressing her cheek with his thumb. "Take as much time as you need."

"One more thing..."

"What?"

Ziva smiled. "We really need to stop these ridiculous fights and just be honest with each other."

Tony chuckled softly and buried his face in her hair. "I agree."

They lost all measure of time while standing in their intimate embrace in the men's room, of all places. It felt like hours before someone tried to open the door, noticed that it was locked from the inside and left again. Tony was the first to step away after that, reluctantly unwrapping his arms from around Ziva's body. They both immediately missed the warmth of the other, but they knew that they had to get back to work eventually before Gibbs kicked in the door and dragged them out to their desks. Tony sighed when he unlocked the door and stepped out, but was surprised when he felt Ziva's hand glide into his and giving it a gentle squeeze. It was an unspoken promise, he knew that. And he was going to wait until she was ready to return to him what he was willing to give to her.

Before the pair turned around the corner to the bullpen, Ziva stopped and their joined hands made Tony stop as well. When he turned to look at her, she was chewing on her lower lip, which was something she rarely did. It just was a very girly thing to do. After a moment she seemed to have made a choice and she took one step forward, so she could get on her tiptoes. One hand moving to his cheek and the other staying in his, she kissed him just on the corner of his mouth and let her lips linger there for the longest of moments. After that she let go of his hand and they shared a long look before she walked past him to re-join Gibbs and McGee. Tony stared after her for a moment before he did the same thing, trying to look as calm as possible, because somehow that kiss had been more intimate than if she'd kissed him on the lips. It just showed him how deep their connection truly went and when he sat back down at his desk across from hers he couldn't keep the smile from his face. And the joy he felt when he saw her smile in return was worth six years of hurt and frustration. Because now he knew that he held her heart just like she held his and that he didn't have to let her go again. Ever.

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><p><strong>Well...that's it. Somehow I kept distracting myself with random stuff like the McGeeMTAC thing or ProbieWright to avoid the actual conversation between them and this is what it turned out to be in the end. It's really hard for me to write deep meaningful, emotional stuff. I'm more of a random fun person, but I tried really hard and I hope y'all liked it.**

**Your thoughts on this are really appreciated and I am grateful for every single review.** :)


	3. Chapter 3

**I finally managed to update this! First I didn't like the ending and re-wrote it like five times and then when I was finally happy with it I couldn't log onto this website...what tha hell? :/**

**But hey, beter late than never, right? (that should be Tiva's motto by now...)**

**Hope you'll enjoy...it's a bit random at some points, I guess, but that's just my brain being creative. And since needed to make a plot with at least _some_ kind of a story-line out of my little two-shot and because I don't want to write only fluff the story will get a case somewhere in the next chapter.**

**_Disclaimer_: Nooooo mum. It's _not_ mine...**

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><p>That night when Ziva sat on her couch with a cup of jasmine tea in her hands, she thought about the day's events. Some part of her had known all along how much her partner truly cared for her, but she was scared to admit that she'd felt the same all along. To say that she'd liked him from day one would be a lie, though. Because in the very beginning she hadn't really cared about him at all. He was just an annoying man-child back then, a playboy with a charming smile and that's all there was to it. Now his smile was still charming and he was still annoying, but he could be very serious at the important moments...like the ones in certain NCIS bathrooms. Ziva couldn't help but smile when she thought about their conversation hours earlier and she absentmindedly raised a finger to her lips as if to try and feel the warmth of his skin there. She'd really wanted to kiss him again, but that would've been too soon for her healing heart.<p>

Ziva was glad that Tony understood her need of time before they could...take the next step. And she wasn't scared that he would back out, because she had seen the way he looked at her, even when she was technically engaged to Ray. A small laugh escaped her lips then. He would've watched her running off with – in his eyes – the biggest jerk on earth just to see her happy. It was something that felt far too stupid for her to be true if it had been someone else. But it was Tony. The class clown, the best friend she ever had, the partner she never wanted to lose again. And she knew that once he had a plan in mind, he was determined to get through with it. Even if it meant to wait for her for a longer period of time, which definitely was something against his impatient nature.

But she made a promise to herself that she wouldn't let him wait for too long. After all six years of waiting could be considered as enough wasted time. And being honest with herself she knew that physically she was more than ready to just give in, drive over to his apartment and tell him to screw the healing part. She was certain that he would welcome her with open arms. But sadly there was her all too rational mind getting in the way. Because after what Ray had done she wasn't sure if she wanted to trust someone again. Everyone she'd trusted ended up hurting her pretty badly. Of course she knew that Tony would never hurt her in that way, but still she was scared of tearing her carefully build up wall around her feelings for her partner down completely. There were already more than a few cracks in it and bricks were missing, but it wasn't anything she couldn't fix. If she backed out now it would be the safest way for her heart. But it would break his, of course, and that was something that she couldn't live with. Not after everything they'd been through together.

Taking the last sip of her tea, she decided to call him. Partly because she had been thinking a lot about him in the past minutes and partly because she just really liked hearing his voice. Always had. It held something soothing to her and it just made her feel...home. And home was something that she definitely needed right now.

**...**

His apartment was dark except for his TV's flickering and Tony was engrossed in the movie he was watching, hanging on every stammered word that escaped Colin Firth's lips. He had heard that _The King's Speech_ was good, it had won a few Oscars after all, but still he'd never had the time to watch it. Which was a pity really, because it was amazing. Of course he had always seen Colin Firth's qualities as an actor. Even in that one musical movie with the ABBA songs that Ziva liked so much.

Just at that moment his phone rang and Tony snapped out of his thoughts. He stretched to get his old Nokia cell phone, because his smartphone needed to be fixed after last night's incident. With just one look at the number a smile spread on his face.

"Hey Zi. I was just thinking 'bout you", he said.

"_Well...that is a good thing, right?_" Ziva said with a smile evident in her voice.

"Sure is. What's up? Just wanted to hear my voice?" Tony teased.

"_No_!" Ziva said a bit too fast and it made Tony think if he wasn't that off with his simple joke. "_I was just wondering...what you were doing_", she finished awkwardly.

Tony chuckled. "The usual. Movie and maybe a pizza later on."

"_Seriously Tony? pizza?_"

"Yeah. Got a problem with that, Agent David?"

"_Am I wrong or did you have a pizza yesterday as well?_", she said accusingly.

"Maybe..." Tony answered. "I didn't have the time to cook something real."

"_I think you were just being your lazy self"_ Ziva stated. "_All that fast food cannot be good for you."_

"Are you calling me fat, Zi?" Tony exclaimed in fake hurt.

"_No. I am merely saying that your physical condition could suffer under your poor nutrition."_

"And why is my physical condition of your concern?"

"_Well_" Ziva chuckled seductively "_An NCIS agent should be fit to do the field work...and some other exercise._" And _that_ put some interesting pictures in Tony's mind that made it pretty hard not to drive to her place faster than she could say Weightwatchers. Suddenly his throat was really dry and his stomach fluttered.

"Umm...I think I'll have a salad..." he finally choked out.

"_Wise choice, Tony_." Ziva said in her all-too seductive voice. He didn't know what had brought it on, but she was being her old self tonight. The wild Israeli assassin that knew exactly what to say to make him react. And he decided to try and push his luck just a bit further.

"I got one problem, though..."

"_And what would that be...mhh?_" she breathed.

For a moment he almost forgot what his master plan was while he got lost in thoughts about his partner saying things to him in that voice...breathing against his skin... He immediately snapped out of it. "I don't have any salad." He said huskily.

"_Shame on you, DiNozzo._" Ziva laughed. And her laugh was probably Tony's most favourite sound in the world after he had to live without it for far too long. "_Do you want me to come over and help you out?"_

"Was that a serious offer or are you playing with me, Ziva?" He asked.

"_I was really just going to make myself a salad and cooking for two people is more fun, so yes, it is a serious offer_."

"Awesome! I'll re-start the movie once you're here."

"_Okay Tony, I'll be over soon_." Ziva said and hung up. In that way she was getting much more like Gibbs, which was a bit scary.

**...**

Ziva got up from her couch with a smile on her face. She hadn't really intended to go to his apartment, but now she was glad how everything had turned out. In the kitchen she got some fresh ingredients for a chicken salad out of her fridge. She knew that Tony wasn't the biggest fan of salads, but with her aunt Nettie's recipe she was sure that he would love it.

When she was sure to have everything ,Ziva grabbed her car keys and got to her car to drive to Tony's. On the way she was already a few steps ahead of herself with the cooking and thought about what tasks she could give Tony so he would learn to cook properly for himself. Although she had a feeling that she would have to spend a few more nights at his place until he'd really be able to do that. Not that she minded.

**...**

Tony was really glad that she hadn't been joking and was actually coming. Every minute he got to spend with her was precious, because it meant that he got to show her that she could trust him with her heart. And yes, he knew that it was going to be hard for her. After all her trust had been broken by almost every male person in her life – including himself. When he heard his buzzer he jumped up and pressed the door opener, leaving the door to his apartment open for her.

Soon she was standing in his kitchen, unpacking everything and giving him instructions to cut some vegetables to thin slices. And he wasn't as clumsy as he thought he'd be. In fact he was doing a pretty good job and he liked the approving look she was giving him. He was a bit of a show-off after all. Must be the Italian genes or something.

They laughed and joked around with each other while they were working side by side, being a perfect team. And Tony realized once more that it was exactly what he wanted to have with her. Doing couply things together and seeing that she enjoyed it just as much as he did. He couldn't keep the smile off his face when he splashed water on her when she least expected it, causing her to glare at him with that special sparkle in her eyes before she countered with a splash of the almost finished salad dressing. Fits of laughter shook him while he tried to wipe his face with a dishtowel.

"You missed a spot", she stated cheekily and took a step closer, raising her hand to his face and wiping a few drops of dressing off his face. She ended up with her hand caressing his cheek, stopping his laughter. They both fell silent and just stared into each others' eyes.

After a minute or two Tony cleared his throat and stepped away, because otherwise he wouldn't have the strength to keep his distance from her. The urge to kiss her was a bit overwhelming sometimes, now that he knew what it felt like.

"Thanks. Now let's eat, shall we?", he said with a smile, so it wouldn't get awkward. It worked. A smile graced her lips while she carried her plate into the living room and it stayed in place when he settled down next to her and re-started the movie.

"What are we watching?" Ziva asked immediately.

"_The King's Speech_. Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter in a true masterpiece by Tom Hooper. It won 4 Oscars." Tony almost automatically rambled.

"Oh, I have heard of it. It is good, yes?", Ziva said and while her eyes were glued to the screen, Tony's eyes stayed on her. He'd already seen the beginning after all and watching her was better than any movie, which meant a lot in his case. "Eyes on the screen, Tony.", Ziva said with a smirk and looked at him out of the corner of her eye.

"Right. Sorry." Tony grinned and turned his attention back to the film. His focus still stayed on her though, and Burris' words rang in his ears.

_Cherish each other._

And he cherished her, alright. How couldn't he?

**...**

After the movie finished Ziva got up and so did Tony to walk her to the door. He'd known beforehand that she didn't plan on staying over, even if it was just on his couch.

"Thanks for feeding me, Zi. It was really good...for a salad." Tony said and nudged Ziva in the side, she turned to face him and smiled.

"I am glad you enjoyed it, even though it was healthy", Ziva said and patted Tony's stomach teasingly, but with affection. He grinned down at her.

"I see, you are impressed by my steal-hard muscles, Miss David." He winked at her and she rolled her eyes.

"Goodnight, Tony", Ziva said and turned to leave, but Tony held her back. She turned to look at him again and the look he gave her in return made her week in the knees. She took a step back into his apartment and got on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek like earlier that day.

"Night", Tony whispered and let go of her hand. Ziva smiled a warm smile and left.

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><p><strong>Haha, you might've guessed that I LOVE <em>The King's Speech<em>! I just started reading a book about Lionel Logue's family history because of it ;))**

**You know what else I Love? ...Reviews! :D sooo pleaaase tell me what you thought (constructive critizism is welcome as long as you don't get insulting (;**

**Also I'm leaving for New York in about three hours and won't have the time to write for a week (and I'm so excited, I'm shaking!), next hapters are already planned out but it'd be still good to write them down, right?**


	4. Chapter 4

**I. Am. Sorry. I was being really really REALLY lazy after my week in New York and then there was jetlag and school started again and blahblahblah... But now it's Friday and I finally had the time to write another chapter. Yay!**

**So, this one's definitely shorter than the previous ones, but I just didn't think that making it longer would suit the story. I'll try to make the next one longer though, promise :)**

**Well, the whole story is allll planned out and it wouldn't be me if there wasn't a teenytiny bit of drama in it...you can't always just have the Tiva-fluff wihtout earning it first ;D anyway, it's probably going to be about seven, maybe eight, chaps in total and - weird as I am - I have the last chapter already written down...but not the chapters 5 to 6 xD Lucky for you I'll have loads of time tomorrow, so I'll probably plan in a date with Microsoft Office Word (;**

**Enough of me boring you with my lifestory, just read and enjoy!**

_**Disclaimer: I don't own it. Deal with it.**_

* * *

><p>A week passed without anything out of the ordinary. McGee noticed that his co-workers flirted a bit more than they usually would and shared quite a few meaningful glances, but shrugged it off as one of their moods. He didn't think they would work out whatever it was that was between them, not after Ray, but he never lost hope. He had the heart of a writer after all and always wanted to see the happy end in real life.<p>

When Gibbs told them to go and grab some lunch before doing some more research on their current case, McGee decided to go with his friends, but then he saw the look Tony was giving Ziva and her soft smile and answering nod and changed his mind. He didn't want to interrupt when they seemed to be getting closer again. Instead he just smiled at them when he saw Tony absentmindedly placing a hand in the small of Ziva's back to guide her to the elevator, a gesture he didn't seem to notice he was doing. McGee went to pay a visit to Abby down in her lab for some 'TivaTalk', as the Goth liked to call it. She was definitely going to be interested in hearing his observations.

**...**

Ziva smiled when she felt Tony's gaze on her. They had just been sitting down in a café with their lunch and she took a sip from her tea while he chewed on his pastrami sandwich. She turned to look right back at him.

"You know...I've been thinking", Tony started after a minute of staring at each other. Ziva raised an eyebrow at him. "Hey! Don't gimme that look! I do think sometimes!", he exclaimed.

"Yes you do. But it is not always productive, Tony", Ziva teased.

"Okay, so I've been thinking something productive this time. Since you liked Geoffrey Rush so much in the movie last week, I figured that you might want to see another one he's in..."

"And that is productive how...?" She took a bite off her own sandwich.

"You get to know a wider range of movie genres, because the film I had in mind is an animated one." Satisfied with his explanation, Tony leant back in his chair and grinned at his partner.

"What is it about?" Ziva asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Owls."

"Owls? The animals?"

"Yep. Believe me, it's awesome", Tony assured. "Lots of humour and cool 3D effects. You're gonna love it, Ziva!"

The Israeli pretended to think for a minute before a smile spread on her face. "Okay. I will be over tonight then, yes?"

Tony grinned like a child on Christmas at her answer. "Oh, and could you bring some stuff for salad over again?"

Ziva stared at him for a second with wide eyes, before she started laughing uncontrollably. And it wasn't often that she let herself be so relaxed that she could laugh like that. When she got a hold on herself again she looked at Tony who wore an amused expression after watching her.

"What was so funny?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.

Ziva chuckled again before she answered. "You, Tony DiNozzo, are voluntarily suggesting to have salad for dinner? What happened?"

Instead of laughing like her, he suddenly turned serious and reached over to softly brush his fingers across the soft skin of her hand. "Well...maybe I found my better half", he stated.

Ziva's heart beat faster and a cold layer of sweat started building in her neck. What happened to him giving her time? Did he consider _a week_ as enough time? Well, she certainly didn't! When he leant over it was clear what he was going to do. Ziva's eyes darted around the small café to find something, _anything_, that could safe her from this situation without hurting Tony too much. When his lips were just an inch away she jumped up and walked over to the cashier.

"Gibbs is probably already waiting for us. Lunch is on me." It was a weak excuse, but all that she'd been able to think of in her panic. When she let out a deep breath before turning back to the table, she hoped with all her heart that she hadn't ruined everything by losing her nerves in the wrong moment, but luckily he held out her coat to her once she stood in front of him again.

"Thanks for buying, Zi", he said and smiled, but the smile didn't quite reach his eyes. They walked in silence back to the Navy Yard until Ziva decided to cheer him up again.

"So...about that movie", she started and smiled when he immediately turned his head to look at her "You said that Geoffrey Rush was in it, but then you said that it was...animated, yes?"

Tony thought for a moment before answering. "Well yeah. Geoffrey Rush is the voice of one of the owls in the film and being the ninja you are you'll probably recognize it straight away once you hear it." This time his smile was genuine again.

"I see...", Ziva said and took a step closer so her arm was touching his and they walked the rest of the way with him rambling away about the movie, giving her a complete synopsis. She just smiled to herself and was glad that everything seemed to be fine between them.

**...**

A while after Gibbs had told them that they could leave for the night, Tony was still finishing his report on the case that they had finished shortly after coming back from their lunch break. Gibbs had gone down to Labby to bring his favourite forensic scientist the last _Caf-Pow!_ for the day. Suddenly Director Vance appeared on the top of the stairs and made his present known to his agents by clearing his throat, followed by a request.  
>"Agent David, Agent McGee, can we have a word?" he asked.<p>

Ziva and McGee exchanged a confused look but nodded their heads. "Of course, Director", McGee said and walked to the stairs. Ziva dropped her bag back on her desk and followed after him. When Tony shot her a questioning glance she shrugged, knowing as much as him why Vance wanted to see her.

When they sat opposite Vance at his desk they watched him closely and the usually cold-looking man seemed...worried. And when McGee saw him fiddling with the wrapping of the toothpick he was currently chewing on, he knew that something must be really wrong. After a long silence the Director finally spoke.

"We got hacked again."

Someone tried to download highly classified documents and our IT experts are tapping in the dark. I was hoping you could trace the adress again, agent McGee."

"Um...sure. I could do it right away..." McGee got up.

Vance raised a hand. "That is not necessary, but be in tomorrow at 0500 hours."

"Of course, Director", the young agent said with a nod and left the office. Once he was gone, Ziva turned to look at her superior.

"And what do I have to do with this? I am not qualified to do any of the things McGee does", she said confused.

"If Agent McGee is able to trace the hacker's address back to a computer we can be sure that we are dealing with a group. At the moment our prime suspect is a man called Peter Finch, former IT expert in one of our units. He was discharged last year because he sold classified information to foreign agencies. He disappeared the next day and was now sighted a couple of times in D.C.", Vance explained.

"And what do I have to do with that?" asked Ziva.

"Since you are fluent in many languages I would like you to go undercover and gain his trust so he can lead us to his clients."

Ziva thought about that for a moment. She didn't really have a choice, she knew that, but still it didn't seem good to her that she was assigned to that mission. The memory of Tony's last assignment was still not forgotten.

"Agent David?" Vance asked, bringing her back to the real world "You will be starting tonight, a driver will pick you up at your apartment at nine and drive you to your temporary home."

Ziva nodded once. "I will be ready", she said and got up, walking to the door.

"And Ziva" Vance called. She turned halfway to face him with one hand still on the door handle. "This is an undercover op, so don't tell Gibbs. Or DiNozzo", he added sternly. "Understood?"

"Understood." Her voice was barely above a whisper and she turned and left the office with a tight knot i her stomach. So much for no more lies in her and Tony's relationship...and it wasn't even one yet.

* * *

><p><strong>So, how was it? I wantz feedback! Pwease? :DD<strong>

**.**

**.**

**.  
><strong>

**oh, just one thing I really need to get off my chest: I DON'T LIKE WENDY!  
><strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**I just noticed that I totally forgot to point out that none of the following chapters will have anything to do with upcoming episodes. It started after _A Desperate Man_ when it was still a one-shot and went into a complete different direction than the show after that (no Wendy, no Gibbs getting shot and so on..) I know that it's kinda obvious _now_, but I'm just sayin'...  
><strong>

**Anyway. Here's a short reminder of what happened last:** Vance sent Ziva on an assignment to find Peter Finch, the guy who hacked into NCIS, and gain his trust.

_**Disclaimer: ...owning Michael Weatherly would be awesome...but I'll never know, because I neither own him, nor NCIS.**_

* * *

><p>Ziva gathered her jacket and bag again once she was back at her desk and got her back-up gun out of her drawer. It could come in handy during her assignment. Soon she felt a familiar presence in her back, sighed and turned around. Tony was nearer than she thought and she jumped slightly when her chest brushed his. He smiled down at her and raised an eyebrow.<p>

"So...what did he want?"

"Vance?"

Tony rolled his eyes. "No, the yellow bird from Sesame Street." Ziva gave him a questioning look and tilted her head to the side. Tony sighed. "Of course Vance."

"Well, why didn't you say that", Ziva said.

"What did he say?" Tony repeated the question. Ziva was silent and looked away so she wouldn't meet his eyes, knowing that he'd see the lies in them when she answered.

"Nothing." Her voice was clear and without her eyes screaming at him not even Tony could tell that she was lying.

"Oh." Tony said thoughtfully, but then beamed at her again. "I just finished my report, so how 'bout a drink before we go to my place?"

Again Ziva stayed silent at first, hating that she had to cancel their movie night. "About that...", she started, finally looking at him again "I do not think I can make it tonight."

"What? Why?" Tony took a step back and crossed his arms, staring at her.

"I'm sorry, Tony, I am just really tired and I do not think that I would be great company if I just fell asleep and missed all of the film", she said, but as predicted her eyes gave her away.

"You'd still be there", Tony whispered, reaching out to brush a hand over her cheek. She closed her eyes at the touch, savouring the feeling of it, because now she really had to push him away. For the sake of her assignment. With a sigh she opened her eyes and turned away, checking her desk for things she might have forgotten. When she was sure that she had everything, she turned back to look at her partner whose eyes had been on her for the whole time. She stepped closer one last time and wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her face in his chest and breathing in his scent so she wouldn't forget it. His arms went around her automatically and he held her, feeling it was what she needed.

Too soon she stepped away and smiled weakly at him. "Goodnight, Tony", she whispered and it didn't go unnoticed by him that she didn't add a _see you tomorrow_. She might as well have said Goodbye.

**...**

After his second beer he decided to stop, because otherwise he'd be drinking himself into unconsciousness and he hadn't done that since the day he thought Ziva David was dead. And she was definitely not dead this time. She'd only cancelled a movie night, for god's sake, what was _wrong_ with him?  
>He was worried, that's what's wrong. Before the elevator doors had closed earlier he'd been <em>thisclose<em> to wanting to believe her story. But then he'd seen her sigh and sack against the cold metal wall. He hated the look that had been on her face.

After that he'd waited for about fifteen minutes until he finally got himself to go home. He didn't remember if he took the elevator or the stairs – although he was pretty sure that he'd never take the stairs if not a matter of life or death – or how he had driven home. The next thing he knew was that he was lying in his bed with a six-pack next to him. He was pretty sure that she was pushing him away because he'd tried to kiss her in the café, and he hated himself for it. He should have himself under better control, especially with her. He shouldn't have pushed her.

Unable to control the anger and hatred directed against himself, he threw the empty bottle across the room and didn't even wince at the ear shattering sound the glass made as it exploded at the contact with the wall.

"DAMNIT!" he yelled, not caring that he probably woke his neighbours as it was already close to one in the morning. Slowly he got up and left the room to put the remaining beer back in the fridge and get a broom to clean up the goddamn mess in his bedroom. On the way back he hit his toe on his coffee table and a torrent of swearwords escaped his lips at a ridiculously high volume. It didn't take a minute until an angry knock at his door could be heard. Tony hobbled to open up.

"Anthony! What is going on down here?" yelled Mrs Jenkins, Tony's least favourite neighbour. She was tiny but sickeningly annoying and Tony was sure that she must've been around when electricity was invented.

"I'm sorry Mrs Jenkins", he said.

"Well it is exactly forty eight minutes past midnight and I would love to sleep!"

"I promise to keep the volume down from now on." Tony rolled his eyes and leant against his door frame, waiting for her to leave.

"I certainly hope so!" with that she turned dramatically and walked down the narrow hallway to her own apartment. Tony threw the door shut and sighed, but was calmer again. He decided to leave the cleaning up to future-Tony and just go to bed. Maybe it would turn out to have been a bad dream in the morning.

**...**

The next day when Tony strolled into the bullpen he was alone with Gibbs who had his glasses on and read a report.

"DiNozzo", he put report away and looked at his Senior Field Agent. "We gonna be working cold cases today. McGee was sent to some special cyber unit for the week and Ziva apparently called in sick this morning."

"On it Boss." Tony walked over to Ziva's desk and picked one of the many files in the box on there. He stared at her vacant chair and thought if she really was sick or just avoiding him. He shrugged it off and walked back to his own desk to sit down, opening the file. _Staff Sergeant James McKinley, honourably discharged, disappeared in 2006_ blahblahbla...to say that this was boring was definitely an understatement. And not even the Probie was there to be teased.

"Something wrong, Tony?" Gibbs asked from his desk, using his first name which was a bit unusual.

Tony's head snapped up in surprised and his eyebrows lifted. "No, everything's peachy. More than peachy even. It's...fine." His eyes moved to his partner's desk.

"Even ninjas get sick, DiNozzo", Gibbs stated, half-smiling. The little nickname for Ziva hadn't gone unnoticed by him.

Tony laughed without humour, but nodded. "Yeah...I guess they do." Nonetheless he wondered what Ziva was up to, because his gut told him that she sure as hell wasn't lying in her bed with a cup of tea.

**...**

Ziva had received a message from McGee that Peter Finch was currently having brunch at a small bistro, so she had dressed up a bit – nothing too conspicuous – and made her way to her car, which wasn't her car exactly, but it was still her car for the duration of her mission.

Now she sat at a small table and watched the suspect closely. He was pretty good-looking, she had to admit, so it wouldn't be too hard to seduce him into talking to her. And with a cute little French accent it would be even easier, she hoped. To not make her surveillance too obvious Ziva let her eyes wander around the room. Apart from her and Finch, there was an elderly couple sitting in one corner of the room, reading the paper and drinking some coffee, at the table next to her was a group of students who were discussing something over a pizza and some coke and at the table in the centre was a family celebrating a little girl's birthday and the relatives were talking away in rapid German.

Ziva decided that she was going to make a move after half an hour of watching him drinking his cappuccino. She got up, walked over to the table across the room and sat down across from the supposed hacker.

"Bonjour", she said with a friendly smile. "I have been watching you. You seem to be waiting for someone..." Her accent was adorable.

Finch looked up and his mouth opened slightly as he saw the beautiful woman in front of him. Then he smiled a crooked smile and put his coffee to the side. "Well, maybe I was waiting for _you_."

Ziva laughed a throaty laugh and reached over to touch his hand before sending him a seductive glare. "Call me", was all she said and got up to leave the bistro, looking back at him at the door to see if he reacted the way she wanted him too. She was pleased when she saw that he was holding the small piece of paper she had secretly left on the table.

**...**

Finch let out a deep breath after the mysterious woman had left. She wasn't just hot, she was smokin'. With a smile he reached for his coffee, when he noticed the small piece of blue paper. He took it in his hands and unfolded it carefully.

_I have heard you know how to hack into government systems.  
>I would be interested in those skills,<br>Chloé Ledoux_

So that was her name. Damn, he loved French chicks. He immediately saved the number from the back of the little note on his cell phone. Yep, he was definitely gonna call her.

**...**

When Ziva was back in her car she called McGee, glad that she didn't have to keep the mission a secret from all of her friends. The geeky agent answered after the third ring.

"_McGee_."

"Bonjour mon ami." Ziva said, keeping her tone lighter than her actual mood was.

"_Hey Ziva. How's it going?_" McGee asked.

"Finch bought it. I bet he will be calling later today."

"_Good. Should I tell Vance? I was going to have a lunch break anyway_", McGee offered.

Ziva smiled. He was too good for the world. "Thank you, that would be very nice of you Tim." An awkward silent threatened to break out before Ziva spoke again. "How is Tony?" she blurted out, sounding more concerned than she had intended to.

"_Actually I don't know. I've been down in the basement since I came in this morning. I haven't even said hi to Abby yet._"

"Oh." Ziva said, not even trying to hide her disappointment. She desperately wanted to know how he was taking her absence after yesterday's incident. She had a feeling that Tony was doing a bit too much thinking.

"_Hey, I can talk to him for a second when I'm up. I'll tell him to call you._" McGee yelled a _see you later_ at someone before Ziva heard the elevator 'ding'. He was leaving the basement.

"I do not have my other phone with me...", she admitted.

"_That's okay, your phone connects to the internet. I'll just tell him to send you an email._" McGee said cheerily.

"Thank you", Ziva said, meaning it with all her heart.

"_No problem at all, I'm just gonna go and get Abby a Caf-Pow! and then I'll be right up in the bullpen. Bye Ziva._" And McGee hung up.

**...**

Tony woke up when he felt an all-too familiar pain to the back of his head. He jumped up and looked around the room.

"I wasn't sleeping! I wasn't sleeping!" he yelled.

"Explain the snoring, DiNozzo...", smirked Gibbs. "Go grab some lunch...and some coffee."

"Will do, Boss." Tony got up and walked to the elevator just to run into McGee who stepped out of it. Tony's face lit up as he saw the end of his boredom coming. "McGeeeeee!" he exclaimed and almost hugged the younger agent.

"Um...hey Tony. You seem happy to see me?" McGee said with an amused expression.

"Oh, don't flatter yourself, Probie. You can't even imagine how boring it is with just Gibbs and me!" Tony sounded almost desperate.

"I heard that!" came Gibbs' voice from the bullpen, making Tony wince.

"Listen, Tim. You gotta stay here!" Tony shook McGee slightly to clarify his point.

McGee chuckled and brushed Tony's hands away. "Sorry DiNozzo, but I need to go see the Director." He patted his friend's shoulder and walked past him. After the first set of stairs he stopped and turned. "Oh, Ziva says 'hi' and you should send her an email." With that he continued his ascent.

Tony shook his head and stepped into the elevator, getting his phone out and logging into his email account.

**...**

Ziva jumped slightly when her phone vibrated and informed her of a new email. And her heart shouldn't be beating that fast all of a sudden and she certainly shouldn't be smiling like that just because she knew that there was only one person who would be sending her an email.

_'__Hey Zi, how are you?_'  
>Five words and still her heart skipped a beat, maybe even two.<p>

'_I am feeling a bit better than this morning...but I do not know when I will be back at work again._'  
>She hated lying to him so much, it almost caused physical pain, but she really hoped that it wouldn't take too long to convince Finch to tell her whom he was working for.<p>

_'__Should I come over and bring you soup or something? I finish at 6:30...  
>And Zi?<br>I miss you...'_

"Oh Tony...", she whispered to herself before replying "Why do you have to make it so hard for me?"  
>'<em>No. I will be fine, thank you. I think I'll just sleep for a while<em>.'

This time it took some time for him to reply.  
><em>'Okay. Get well soon, Sweetcheeks. Being alone with Gibbs is slowly but surely killing me and it's barely been 8 hours...'<em>

At that Ziva had to chuckle.  
>'<em>I will come back as soon as I can, Tony. Try not to kill yourself.<em>'  
>She stared at her phone for a minute before she picked it up again, deciding to send another message.<br>'_I miss you too_.'

With a sigh she leant back in her car seat, a sad smile playing on her lips. Suddenly her phone vibrated again. This time it was an incoming call. And since no one had her number except for McGee it was only one person that could possibly be on the other end.

"Àllo?" Ziva said, again with her French accent.

"_Hello Miss Ledoux_." Peter Finch said casually. "_How about meeting up tonight at eight. Do you know Nora's?"_

"Oui, I know where it is. I will be there."

"_Good_." And the line went dead.

* * *

><p><strong>Mwahahahaha Ziva and Finch in a cute little Restaurant...want do you think is gonna happen? ;)<strong>  
><strong>Leave me your thoughts in this amazing thing called REVIEW...<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**You all have a similar idea of what's gonna happen...and you're not entirely wrong...but there will be a few -**_ probably 3** -**_**more chapters, so I can't have Tony walking in ****now, can I?**  
><strong> And be patient for the Tiva-fluffyness ;) Ask anyone I know! I practically talk a bout Tony and Ziva 24 hours a day and I wish there were even more hours to talk about them...anyway. All I'm saying is that I will have more Tiva in the following updates.<strong>

**Also, I have some McNozzo-Friendship in this chapter, because I really, really like McGee lately...dunno why, just a phase, I guess. I just think that he's a real good friend to Tony and Ziva and every friend of theirs is my friend as well (_that just sounded weird right?_). And I'm random, so deal with it ;D**

**Just to prevent confusion:  
><strong>The first scene in the restaurant takes place on the same day as the last chapter, it's just later ( 7:30-_ish_)  
>After that we have a huge time-jump...well <em>huge<em> is kinda melodramatic, but it's a week._ It's kinda obvious in the text, but I just feel like rambling...bear with me:)__ I'll stop now..._**  
><strong>

_**Disclaimer: Sure...yesterday I got a call and got told that they wanted to give NCIS to a 15-year-old Austrian. Sounds crazy? Well, that's because it's not true. I don't own anything. Not even merchandise. ***runs away crying***  
><strong>_

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><p>That night Ziva looked at herself in the huge mirror of her temporary apartment. Although <em>loft<em> would probably suit the place better. Everything looked really expensive – probably was expensive as well – and a bit over the top in her opinion. But now her opinion didn't count, because now she was Chloè Ledoux. She finished her make-up and straightened the front of her dress, which had a dark purple colour and stuck to her body like a second skin. Satisfied with the end result she grabbed her purse and put her back-up gun in it, followed by her cell phone.

As she drove to the restaurant she thought of a way to persuade Finch into telling her about his hacking techniques and only one thing crept onto her mind. She would have to shamelessly hit on the man. When she arrived at the restaurant she took a deep breath. Of course she had been with many men just because she'd been undercover, so that wasn't the reason she was suddenly shaking. But It was the first time that she felt like cheating on someone who truly meant something to her, and she realized that it bothered her far more than it would have when she was still with Mossad.

Finally she got out of the car and walked over to Nora's. Inside it was really nice and she knew the place already because Ray had taken her there once. Pushing the memory aside she scanned the room for the black hair of Peter Finch, soon spotting him at a table next to the window. Putting on her best fake smile she quickly walked over to greet him.

"Ah, Miss Ledoux. It's a pleasure to meet you yet again so soon", Finch charmed as he got up. "Please have a seat."

"Merci, Mr Finch, but please, call me Chloè."

"Chloè...", he said, testing the sound of it out loud. "What a beautiful name."

"My mother picked it out." Ziva lied freely, settling in her role.

Finch smiled at her. "I ordered some wine, I hope this is okay with you? It's French of course..."

"Oui, oui, thank you. I love having a glass of good wine while discussing business." Ziva winked teasingly at the man in front of her.

"Business?" Finch raised an eyebrow, a smirk on his face.

"Yes. Business. Did you think I only found you intriguing because of your looks?" Before Finch could respond the waiter appeared with the wine. Ziva immediately grabbed her glass and clinked it with Finch's before she took a large gulp to calm her nerves.

When the waiter disappeared again, Finch turned his gaze back on Ziva. "So...you find me intriguing?" he asked.

"I am certain this is not the first time you hear that."

Finch laughed. "Yeah, I'm pretty popular. But it's still nice to hear a beautiful woman say it."

"So you find me beautiful?" Ziva repeated his phrase and her tongue darted out to wet her lips. She was pleased when his mouth fell slightly agape and he nearly drooled over the table.

"Let's order...", he finally said as he regained control.

**...**

Tony was beyond bored as he played the hundredth game of Minesweeper on his computer. He'd long given up on doing some actual work and Gibbs wasn't there to remind him of doing it. It's been more than a week since Ziva 'called in sick' and their little email exchange. He hadn't heard from her since. When he called her it went straight to voicemail, when he turned up at her place she wasn't home and when he sent her messages he waited for a reply, but he never got one.

Something was awfully wrong, he felt that. And he knew that Gibbs felt it too, but of course the silver-haired fox never showed his worries. He wouldn't be their fearless leader if he did. And then there was McGee acting all secretive and telling them over and over again that he was sure Ziva was perfectly fine and that here was nothing to worry about.

Just then the Probie walked into the bullpen with a paper bag and two cups of coffee and rolled his chair over from his desk. "Hey Tony. Had a good day so far?" he asked, placing the food and beverages in front of the older agent.

"Do I _look_ like I had a good day, McUnperseptive?" Tony snapped at him and took one of the coffee cups.

"Still worried about Ziva?" McGee raised an eyebrow and opened the paper bag, revealing two chocolate éclairs and handing one to Tony.

"No, I figured after a week of no contact at all worrying seems to be a bit ridiculous ." he put the éclair back into the bag. "I am completely freaked out!"

"Believe me Tony, she's fine. After all it's Ziva, our crazy assassin chick. If someone tries to hurt her he better has someone else to arrange his funeral." McGee chuckled, but Tony stayed completely serious.

"What did Vance want last week? And don't try to convince me that it didn't have anything to do with Ziva suddenly disappearing without a trace", he said with narrowed eyes.

McGee sighed. "I can't tell you, Tony, you know that." He fell silent as he realized that he might have given something away.

"So you _do_ know something! Ha!" Tony yelled. McGee's eyes widened and he threw his hands in the air.

"_Shhhh_. Oh my god, shut up! If Vance hears that I told you I'll lose my job!" And he sounded so concerned that Tony actually shut up and looked at him.

"I'd say I'm sorry, but you knew where she was all along and didn't tell me", Tony whispered to prevent calling unnecessary attention to them.

"I never said I knew where she was, I only said that I knew she was okay." McGee tried to talk himself out of the situation.

"You've been talking to her, haven't you." It wasn't a question and Tony leant back in his chair, taking a sip from his coffee. McGee nodded and Tony frowned. "You owe me more than one cup of coffee and a chocolate éclair."

"I'm sorry Tony, but I need to get back down there...", McGee said apologetically and got up.

"...and of course you can't tell me what you're doing there, I get it. It's all part of the job. Now go back down to CyberVille and have your little chitty-chats with Ziva. Tell her to send me a post card." Tony said with one of his smiles.

"You're mad at me..." McGee accused.

With a sigh Tony turned the coffee cup in his hands before he looked up at McGee, who was leaning against the separation next to Ziva's desk. "Sorry, Tim. I just kinda miss her...", he finally admitted.

McGee's eyebrows shot up. "You _kinda_ miss her? Tony, you stopped eating!"

"Shut up before I follow you down there and kick your ass in front of your geeky friends." Tony laughed and so did McGee. Then he actually left. It only took about five seconds until Tony snatched the chocolate éclair out of the bag and practically inhaled it.

**...**

"Are you ready to go, Chloè?" came Finch's voice from Ziva's living room. He was sitting on the couch and watching some sports channel.

"Yes, I am", said Ziva as she stepped out of the bathroom, wearing a black cocktail dress and shoes that truly deserved to be called high heels.

"Whoa, you look absolutely stunning!"

"Thank you, Peter, you are not bad yourself." And she wasn't even lying. Because the young man _did_ look rather handsome in his tux and his hair was, as always, styled to perfection. But he just wasn't Tony and even after a week. guilt was still always present in the back of her head.

"Kevin is going to love you." Finch whispered into her ear and Ziva chuckled nervously. He'd been supposed to be attracted to her, but in the last couple of days he'd been getting a bit close at some moments. But tonight he was going to introduce her to Kevin Dawson, the hacker of the second attack, as McGee had been able to find out.

"I certainly hope so. My boss is already growing impatient..." And that wasn't a lie either, because Vance _was_ already breathing down her neck. With a smile she stepped away and grabbed her coat before following him out of the loft and down, where a limousine was waiting for them. Finch and Dawson seemed to be making a lot of money.

"Enjoy your night, Miss Ledoux", the driver said before he started the engine and they drove through the dark streets of Washington D.C.

At the party there were about sixty people and Ziva was sure that not all of them were involved. Finch led her to the bar at the far end corner of the huge room, where a couple was already waiting for them. The man must've been older than Finch and Ziva decided that it was Kevin Dawson. Next to him was a tall blonde, wearing tons of make-up and holding up a glass of champagne in her hand. She looked somewhat like a cheaper version of Paris Hilton.

Finch bro-hugged the other man and kissed the woman on the cheek. "Guys, this is Chloè Ledoux, Chloè, these are Kevin Dawson and Olivia Hollister", Finch made the introductions. Ziva politely shook hands with both people, smiling brightly.

Ziva turned to Kevin. "Peter has told me only positive things about you", she charmed, which earned her a disapproving look from Olivia.

Kevin winked at her. "Well, I can't blame him." The group laughed and Finch went to get some champagne for himself and Ziva as well.

"So, I hear you are interested in our little..business?" Dawson asked after a while of small talk, which Olivia hadn't seemed to be enjoying much. Ziva's accent was a true magnet to all men, including the ones with a girlfriend.

"My boss is. He is willing to pay a high sum of money to get the information you are able to provide. As far as it concerns the US Navy."

"And I told her that it was our specialty", Finch suddenly said from behind her.

"Are you crazy? What if she's a cop!" Olivia finally yelled. It was the first thing she said in the entire evening.

The men exchanged a look before they were in hysterics. "Chloè..a cop! Yeah and my Grandma works as a stunt-woman...No cop is that hot!" Finch said in between laughter.

"He's right, babe. If she's a cop then I am a plumber", Kevin agreed. Then he leant over and whispered something in her ear.

Olivia seemed to consider that for a moment before she smiled the first genuine smile of the night. "Okay. You're probably right, Kev." She turned to face Ziva. "I am terribly sorry for acting so bitchy. It's just that you can never be cautious enough in our line of work.

"Oh, I understand." Ziva said sympathetically and took a sip from her champagne.

"I talked to The Boss earlier when he called. He said we could meet him on Wednesday, is that okay with you, Chloè?" Peter asked. Ziva nodded and let out a deep breath. Only three more days until the identity of their suspect was revealed and her assignment was hopefully over. And then she'd have some serious explaining to do as to why she hadn't replied to Tony's messages. On more than one point she'd wanted to drive over to his place or call him, but she couldn't bring herself to do it, she knew that she would ruin her op with that. Because the only reason Peter was so sure that she wasn't a cop was, because he had someone following her 24/7. Luckily she was clever enough to have noticed it straight away and only texted or called McGee when she was in the bathroom, which she had checked for bugs first.

With a smile she leant into Peter's side, pretending that he was the man she wanted to be with at that moment. And she was sure the look on his face was going to be priceless once he found out that she _really _wasn't a cop, but a federal agent. Her mood lit up even more as she thought about how proud Tony would be if he heard her thinking of herself as a fed, nothing else. And it was a bit more than a little of his doing that she could accept the fact that she wasn't the Mossad killer anymore. This man had really changed her, and she knew that she had changed him as well.

That's the thing with soulmates...they bring out the best in you.

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><p><strong>The ending is...well...I don't particularly like it, but I wrote it at like 1 a.m., so I can live with it. <strong>  
><strong>What about you? Please don't go jumping off a bridge...<strong>

**Can I get a review I may or may not deserve?  
>Thanks for reading anyway... :)<br>**


	7. Chapter 7

**Jeez, this chapter was hard to write! I really suck at writing case-stuff. **  
><strong>Note to self: DON'T DO THAT AGAIN - EVER!<strong>

**There's really not much to say about this, except that it's proabably highly unrealistic. After more than 200 episodes I still got no clue how undercover missions truly work at NCIS (they're probably not as cool in reality as they are in the show anyway) and I apologize if you know more than me and feel offended by my lack of knowledge.**

_**Disclaimer: Not mine.**_

* * *

><p>It was Wednesday when Tony and Gibbs managed to solve a case without the help of McGee or Ziva in record time, just like in the old times almost a decade ago. They had been supposed to work on the cold cases that still were in the seemingly bottomless box on Ziva's desk, but after close to three weeks both men had gotten bored and Gibbs had asked Vance for a case in the field, even without half of his team. Luckily Vance had another team on the murder of a Petty Officer and they were pretty much tapping in the dark. Until team Gibbs came into the picture. Now the murderer was safely put behind bars and Gibbs' closure rate increased once more.<p>

It was about noon when Tony decided to grab some lunch for himself and the bossman at Gibbs' secret coffee place. He thought it was kind of weird how similar it felt to his first days a NCIS when he had only just learned about rule #23 - Never mess with a marine's coffee if you want to live. First he had spilled he dark liquid on his boss' desk and then he hadn't thought about getting him a new one. That was when he got his first real hard head-slap. Tony chuckled to himself as he remembered that day and pushed the button to call the elevator. The door opened to reveal the person he least expected.

Ziva.

**...**

"I am being followed, McGee", she whispered into the phone and made a sharp left turn to confirm her suspicions. A dark SUV was always a couple of cars behind her since she had left the loft for NCIS headquarters. She needed to discuss something with the Director and it was a conversation she couldn't have over the phone, afraid someone who wasn't supposed to might be listening.

_"Where are you?"_ The younger agent was calm, but his voice was a bit more hectic than usual. He was concerned for their mission.

"I am about ten minutes away...but I am tempted to stop and tear this guy's intestines out. He is getting on my nerves!", Ziva hissed with nothing but venom in her voice.

McGee chuckled nervously. "It's _not the right time for that kind of stuff. Just try to get rid of him somehow..."_

"I cannot do that without him knowing that I know he's there! He is one of Olivia's people. She still does not trust me."

"_Okay, maybe I can hack into the traffic system and manipulate the traffic lights around your current location so he has no choice but to stay behind if he doesn't want to be discovered_."

"Try that McGee. Or I will make it the right time to use my knife on him." Ziva hung up and sped the car up to more than a little above the speed limit.

When the next traffic light jumped to green after just having turned red, Ziva was sure that McGee had managed to do what he had said. She let out a breath when she saw that the car behind her had stopped. Soon the SUV was too far behind to be seen and she took a shortcut to the Navy Yard. Once in the parking garage she felt safe again. She quickly made her way over to the elevator and felt the feeling of home rush over her as she pushed the button up to the bullpen.

But when the doors opened Ziva found herself confronted with a problem she hadn't thought about.

He didn't say a word. She couldn't think of anything either, so she just stared at him like a deer in the headlights, her brown eyes wide. When the doors of the elevator threatened to close again his hand shot out to stop them and both snapped out of their temporary paralysis.

"Ziva", he finally said with a nod, his eyes never leaving hers.

"Hello, Tony."

"How are you? You don't look sick...", he stated and suddenly she was fully aware of the fact that he probably knew that she hadn't been sick at all.

"I feel much better, thank you. But I really need to see the Director, so would you mind stepping out of my way?" Ziva looked away, not wanting to lie to him anymore.

"Yes."

"Pardon?"

"I would mind stepping out of your way, Ziva."

She rolled her eyes and pushed past him, but his hand was around her upper arm before she could walk away. "Tony!"

"Oh, don't 'Tony' me. For weeks I had no idea how you were. You didn't answer my calls and you weren't home. Jesus Ziva, I thought you were in hospital with some kind of deadly disease! If McChatterbox hadn't said you were on some secret mission I would've called every hospital in the states to know where you were!" Tony whispered furiously without stopping to breathe once.

Her eyes softened at his confession and suddenly she felt like burying her face in his chest and crying her eyes out. With a sigh she hung her head. "McGee told you?", she finally asked after a minute of silence.

"No, not exactly. He just said that he knew you were fine and that he couldn't tell me anything else. It didn't take a genius to figure everything out", Tony explained, his voice softer.

"I still need to go and talk to Vance...", Ziva said with her eyes still on the ground. She felt ashamed of herself for putting Tony, her partner, through all that time of uncertainty.

"Go then."

She didn't move an inch. Instead she looked up at Tony and her heart almost broke at the sight of his eyes baring his soul to her. No, she couldn't walk away just yet. Instead she stepped back into his personal space and begged him with her eyes to understand. He wrapped his arms around her instead of saying anything.

"I am sorry, Tony", she whispered, her voice muffled by the fabric of his shirt.

"It's okay. I mean it's what we do right? You spying on someone shouldn't have me all freaked out." It was only then that she realized that Tony had no idea that she'd been undercover. He just thought she'd been shadowing somebody.

"I-I...Vance...", she choked out in a very un-Ziva like manner. She felt Tony nod and his lips brushed her temple in the mere ghost of a kiss. Then he stepped away and let go of her.

"Call me when you're done. You still owe me a movie night", he said with a wink and smiled at her in a way that made her heart rate speed up. Then he stepped into the elevator and disappeared.

**...**

"...And you are meeting him today?", Director Vance asked after Ziva had told the entire story of her mission so far.

"Yes. And I am asking for back-up, because this man they call The Boss seems to be really powerful and has his security guards spread across the entire city." Ziva hated to admit that she was too weak on her own, McGee knew that, but he was glad that she didn't plan on acting as a single person.

"Of course. I'll have some agents surround the café." Vance turned to face McGee. "You, Agent McGee, will watch the situation from a surveillance van and give the signal to move."

McGee nodded, proud that the Director trusted him enough for such a task. Ziva smiled at him, but she still seemed kind of stiff. He made a note to ask her later on what was wrong.

"Well, I believe you should be returning to your mission before any suspicions are raised." McGee and Ziva nodded at Vance's words and rose from their chairs to leave the office.

"I will keep you informed on the situation", McGee assured as he left the office.

"Good luck", Vance called after them and McGee wondered why the Director was always in such a great mood lately.

**...**

Ziva was just going to go back to her car when she heard someone approach hr from behind. Turning around she first suspected Tony and smiled but then she saw McGee and Gibbs standing in front of her and she couldn't help but feel a pang of disappointment. And more than a little bit of guilt towards Gibbs. McGee wore an apologetic expression. He'd obviously tried to stop their boss from coming to talk to her.

"McGee", Gibbs huffed and the younger man nodded and left, whispering a soft _'sorry'_ to Ziva, who knew what was coming next.

"Gibbs-", she started, but was interrupted by him.

"Care for a walk, Ziver?", the silver haired man offered and gestured for her to follow him. Surprised by his actions she did without hesitation. They exited the building and walked wordlessly side by side through one of the parks that surrounded their workplace. Gibbs stopped at a coffee stand and bought himself the usual and a Vanilla Latte for Ziva. She accepted it with an appreciative nod and they walked for another minute before Gibbs finally spoke.

"He's been through a lot, ya know", he looked at her from the corner of his eye. "Wendy, Jeanne, Agent Barrett..." Only now did she realize that he was talking about Tony.

"I know", she said and took a sip from her coffee.

"When we thought we'd lost you it was hardest on him. He was the one who wanted to kill that _sonofabitch_ Saleem. I knew what he must've felt like. Losing someone you care about." For a second she had been sure that he was going to say 'someone you love' but sighed in relief when that wasn't the case.

Still, it wasn't often that Gibbs talked about feelings and all that stuff and it took Ziva by surprise. But again she nodded. "I know."

"He blamed himself, back then. Because of Rivkin." Gibbs laughed once without humour. "I don't know how often he turned up drunk at my doorstep and kept telling me that he wanted you back."

"He never had me", Ziva stated bitterly.

"Oh no. He had you alright. But he lost you again. First to your father and then to Agent Cruz."

"Do you know something I do not?" she asked suspiciously, not knowing where this conversation was heading.

"All I'm saying is that a man can only take so much. And he's pretty close to losing it. He needs someone to care for him. And someone he can care for."

"Well, _you_ obviously care, otherwise we wouldn't be having this conversation. The whole team cares for him."

"Do _you_...care, Ziver?" His hesitation before the word '_care__'_ made her heart speed up. Did he know that she and Tony had agreed to take the next step once she was ready?

She settled for the safe answer. "Of course I do. I am his partner, am I not?"

"Just don't build up his hopes and then chicken out."

"Are you implying something?" Her eyes narrowed.

"I dunno, am I?" With that Gibbs smirked and walked away, leaving a confused Ziva in front of the main entrance to their work building. She hadn't even realized that they'd been walking back there. With a quick check on her watch she realized that it already neared three p.m. She needed to meet with Finch and his boss. As if on cue she received a message from McGee, telling her that everything was ready.

**...**

At the small cafe she quickly found the table where Finch was already seated at a table next to the window. Alone. This made her wonder, but she smiled anyway and sat down in the chair next to him from which she had a perfect view of the street and the surveillance van McGee was seated in.

"Bonjour ma petite Cherie", he greeted her in heavy accented French, kissing her cheek.

"Hello, Peter. I see you are on your own?"

"Yes. My boss and Kevin are stuck in traffic, I believe they'll be arriving any minute."

"_Dawson just pulled up in front of the entrance. There's a guy with him_", McGee informed her through her ear piece. Ziva nodded once, knowing that he could see her from the van across the street.

"Oh, Kevin just arrived. Ready to meet the big bossman?" Finch chuckled and got up to meet his friend and boss. Kevin was dressed in a very expensive looking black suit and so was Finch, Ziva noticed. She felt a bit under-dressed only in her jeans and dark green silk blouse and self-consciously fiddled with her napkin. What had she been thinking?

"You look gorgeous", Peter assured, sensing her distress. It was a shame he was a criminal, otherwise he would make some girl really happy, Ziva was sure. Kevin spotted them and whispered something in his boss' ear. They walked over and Kevin introduced them.

"Boss, this is Chloè Ledoux. Chloè, this is our boss, Mr. Smith."

"Enchantèe, Miss Ledoux. It is a pleasure to meet you." Smith held out his hand to her and Ziva shook it.

"The pleasure is all mine, Mr Smith."

"I know understand why Peter speaks so highly of you", Smith said

"Well, thank you. But let us talk business, shall we?" Ziva was getting impatient.

"A woman who knows what she wants. She's a keeper, Pete", Kevin teased, causing Finch to blush. Ziva did not understand what was going on.

Finch swore softly and leant over to whisper in her ear. "I kinda told them that we're together, so he they'd trust you more." That took her by surprise, but she played along anyway. After all this was going to be over soon.

"I think she's right, gentlemen", Smith spoke up, authority in his voice. Enough of the Smalltalk. What did you have in mind, Miss Ledoux?"

"_Tell_ _him you need to have background information on a Mission called 'Black Mamba'_ ", McGee said. He'd been silent throughout the previous conversation. Secretly Ziva thought that this was a ridiculous name for a mission, but ignored that fact.

She leant forward and lowered her voice. "My boss wants to have some important information on...the _Black Mamba_."

"Oh, this is going to be expensive, my dear." Smith chuckled. "Kevin went through a lot of trouble to get these files. Isn't that true, Kevin?" Kevin nodded once and smiled smugly.

"He will pay any price, Mr Smith."

"Any price? What about half a million dollars?"

"378, 219 Euros, which equal 500,000 dollars, would be sent to you within 24 hours in exchange for the wanted information. My boss is convenient like that." Ziva repeated after McGee.

Kevin immediately checked on his smart phone if Ziva had converted the amount right and wasn't lying to them. Of course she was right. "How'd you convert that so quickly?", he asked in surprise.

Ziva winked at him. "I know my business."

"Well, if that's all settled, let us enjoy a glass of champagne to celebrate a successful contract."

"Sounds like a plan, boss", said Finch before he reached over and took Ziva's hand in his. She didn't complain, even though his skin was far too hot and she didn't like the way he looked at her. Suddenly she heard McGee through her ear piece.

"_Ziva? Agent Morrison has been watching the back door and he said that a couple of guys in black suits just entered the bistro. They're following orders from Olivia Hollister. I'm coming in now._"

Ziva automatically reached for her purse, knowing she might need her gun at some point. Kevin's phone vibrated and when he looked at it he sent a concerned glance at the back of the room.

"Excuse us" Smith said and motioned for Kevin to follow him. They walked to the back of the cafe, leaving Finch and Ziva alone at their table. They stood up and Finch said something to her, but she didn't listen. All she concentrated on was McGee, whom she could see watching the two men who were just entering the men's room.

"Chloè? You aren't listening."

Reluctantly Ziva pulled her eyes away from the scene in the back. "Pardon, Peter. What did you say?"

"I said that it was nice working with you. And...I was wondering if, you know, we'd see each other again?"

"Sure", she'd lost her focus again as she saw McGee cuffing one of the black-suited men with the help of Agent Morrison.

"Really? Wow that's great."

"Yes."

Out of nowhere his lips were on hers and one of his hands moved to her face. Ziva's eyes widened in surprise and it took all of her willpower not to slap him. Technically it didn't matter because her mission was over. Hollister was handcuffed in the van outside and Smith and Dawson were trapped in the men's room. She saw someone approach McGee from behind and squealed to warn him, but luckily he noticed it quickly enough, knocking the guy out with a well-placed punch.

"What is going on back there?" said Finch as he pulled away, his hand moving to the gun attached to his side. _How could she not have noticed that before?_ Ziva knew only one thing to distract him, so she pulled herself closer and kissed him again. He kissed her back immediately, forgetting his surroundings and deepening the kiss. Ziva felt disgust rush over her, but was glad that her plan had worked.

"Peter Finch, you're under arrest for hacking into government systems and stealing classified information! Hand over your weapon and raise your hands above your head!" Agent Morrison yelled from behind them, releasing Ziva from her situation.

"_What_?"

"Hands above your head!"

"Why doesn't she have to do that?" Finch complained with a nod in Ziva's direction.

With a smirk Ziva opened her purse to reveal her badge. "Special Agent Ziva David, NCIS. I'd say I am sorry, but I'm not. You are a terrible kisser."

Finch didn't say anything, he just stared at the badge with wide eyes while Agent Morrison cuffed him and led him out of the bistro. Ziva's mission was over.

**...**

"Hey! Ziva!" McGee jogged over to where she was standing in front of the bistro. He looked somewhat concerned.

"What is it, McGee?"

"Umm, first of all, good job with the kiss."

"Thanks", she muttered. "But let's not talk about it."

"Yeah well, here's the thing. I don't know what's been going on with you and...Tony before you started the undercover assignment, but-"

"There was nothing going on McGee. We were just partners."

McGee eyed her suspiciously. "Sure. Then tell me why he turned up earlier with some kind of flower and ran off when he saw you kissing Finch?" He ducked away from her as she stared at him in utter disbelief, her hand twitching towards the gun which was safely holstered to her hip again.

"_What_? Tony was here? _And you saw him and didn't tell me?_"

"I'm sorry, I was just filling in local LEOs. And I didn't know he'd turn up, I swear! I thought he was getting lunch for Gibbs!"

"This is not happening." Ziva sighed and covered her eyes with her hands. Suddenly she turned and quickly walked into the direction of her work car. "I need to go McGee!"

"Where?"

"Tony's place!" she yelled over her shoulder, knowing that her partner wouldn't be going back to work after this.

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><p><strong>Review?<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

**I was going to update tomorrow and torture you some more, but you are too amazing for that. Have fun reading! (:  
><strong>

**Well, only one more chapter after this, and believe me, these two make up for any lack of Tiva in previous chapters. I couldn't bear to keep them apart any longer *sniffs***

**Anyway, I've got some serious business to discuss. When I wrote this chapter, I had the conversation already planned out, but somehow I got completely carried away. Mind-Tony and mind-Ziva decided to head into a not-so-T-rated direction, nothing too explicit - I swear I couldn't write that without dying of shame - but if you're sensitive you better skip the two paragraphs...where...you'll see.  
>You've been warned, don't sue me! :P<br>**

_**Disclaimer: NCIS gehört mir nicht.**_  
>(German for 'NCIS is not mine.')<p>

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><p>With sweaty hands she stood in front of his apartment, gathering the courage to raise her hand and knock and when she did it sounded far more firm than she had intended it to be. When she couldn't hear anything from the other side she closed her eyes and prayed that he would open up and just listen to her. She knew what it must have looked like with Finch earlier. Finally she heard the lock turn and the door opened to reveal a more than angry looking Tony. Without saying a word he stepped aside and motioned for her to come in. She hesitated for a second but walked into his apartment anyway.<p>

"Listen, Tony, I am so, _so _sorry", she started but knew that her words probably didn't have any effect on him. Sadly, she was right.

"For what? What's there to be sorry for?" he snapped, crossing his arms over his chest.

Ziva fiddled with the buttons on her coat. Her hands were shaking and she struggled a bit before she could finally take it off. "I know what it looked like, and I can assure you that it is not at all what you think it is."

"So this guy didn't kiss you but accidentally tripped and landed with his tongue in your mouth." He laughed once without any trace of humour. "Sorry for misinterpreting the situation."

"Yes, Peter did kiss me-"

"Oh, so he has a name now." Tony's voice was an octave higher than usual.

"Would you just listen to me!" Ziva begged. "Yes, he did kiss me. And yes, I did kiss him back, but not because I wanted to."

"Yeah it looked like real torture, kissing that good-looking bastard. But he's lucky, y'know." Tony turned and walked to the centre of the room, staring out the window. Ziva could only see the reflection of his face but it was enough. She hated herself for putting that dead expression there.

"Tony...", her voice was barely above a whisper.

He didn't turn. "I had hopes, Ziva. I'd really hoped that we would finally make it, despite rule 12, despite both our fear of commitment and walls that kept us apart over all these years. But it seems that I've been wrong."

"Tony."

"No, I understand. I can't give you what he can, obviously. He's got the looks and the money and, let's face it, the appropriate age. I don't even know how much older than you I am. I can almost be considered a paedophile, right?"

"Tony!" this time she almost yelled and he finally seemed to snap out of his self-loathing state of mind. He still didn't turn, but at least he looked at her reflection. "You are being ridiculous. I do not at all care about age. I don't care about money either. What I do care about is character, though, and right now you are lacking it!"

He laughed bitterly. "If that's the case then why are you still here?"

"Because, Tony, you got everything wrong! I had to kiss Peter to keep my cover in place, otherwise he would have suspected something. And I saved McGee because of it. If Peter had seen him, he would have a nice little bullet hole in his forehead by now!"

And for once Anthony DiNozzo didn't know what to say. She wasn't even sure if he was breathing and found herself checking if his upper body was moving with every intake of air.

"You were working undercover?", he asked after a long and heavy silence. She nodded. "Did Gibbs know about it?"

"No, I do not think so. But he's Gibbs, so I cannot be sure."

"McGee knew, though."

"Yes. He knew."

"You should've told me", he sighed and closed his eyes briefly.

"You know damn well that I cannot do that without risking my job. And you were in a quite similar situation not too long ago, if I remember correctly." She immediately felt bad for opening old wounds, but she also hoped that he would just _understand_.

"But that was different." His expression was unreadable. It made her furious.

"How was that different? I was worried sick about you! Not knowing where you were and everything!"

"You had Ray back then." She noticed the way he flinched when he mentioned the name of the man that had almost taken her away from him, but Ziva was too angry to comfort him. Instead she spat another name into his face.

"And you had EJ, what's the point? We were still partners. And I might mention that I trusted you enough not to follow you when you disappeared!"

"Well, yes I guess it was a bad idea to follow you. But I needed to know why you were acting so...weird. So secretive. And then I saw you with _Peter_, saw you kissing him. And everything I asked myself then was why you were so eager to kiss that random guy, but turned away every time I tried to kiss you." Somewhere in the middle of his speech he had turned to face her. "Do you know how hard it is to watch the woman you love kissing another guy?"

That took her by surprise and her mouth fell slightly open."_What_?" She choked out, taking a tentative step in his direction. "You..._love_...me?" _Had he really just said that?_

"You knew that", Tony stated dryly.

"But you never said it out loud", she whispered, her eyes on the ground.

"Because you weren't ready to hear it. I almost said it a month ago." His voice was much softer now and she could tell that the yelling part of their argument was over.

"I do not know if I'm ready to hear it now", she confessed in a whisper.

"That won't change the way I feel about you, Zi. I love you. Even if you tell me that you don't want to hear it and even when I don't say it, I still do."

"Please, I do not deserve this" They'd had that conversation before and she only meant it half-heartedly.

Tony stepped closer and reached out to take one of her hands into both of his. "You deserve it more than anyone."

"How can you love me after this month? After today?"

Tony laughed as if that was the most ridiculous question anyone has ever asked. "I love everything about you. I love the way your eyes twitch when you get angry with me, I love the way you smile when I tussle your hair, I love how you try to keep your heart safely locked away but still always open it up for someone, I love how you always tap your pencil against your lips when you re-read your reports, I love when you go all ninja on someone an creep them out. But most of all I love how you protect your friends. And today you protected our Probie. I am sorry Ziva, really, but if you tell me again that I shouldn't love you or that I shouldn't tell you, then I'll have to say that I can't do either of it."

"Do you mean all of this?" she asked, completely in awe.

He moved one of his hands to caress her cheek. "Of course I do, I don't think I've ever meant anything as much in my li-"

Her lips cut him off then and her arms wrapped around his neck to pull him closer. He kissed her back more than eagerly, savouring the feeling of her soft lips on his. His arms snaked around her waist to hold her and the warmth that radiated from his body made her feel safe. They broke apart when that damn habit of breathing was necessary, but they didn't step away from one another, they just let their foreheads connect.

"I'm sorry for doubting you", Tony whispered and kissed her again. Now that he could do it he didn't think he'd ever stop.

"I'm sorry for lying to you."

"I love you."

"The more you say it, the harder it gets to believe."

Both of them chuckled, but when their eyes met they fell silent. Suddenly the atmosphere in the room changed completely and when she leant up to kiss him again it wasn't that light kind of kiss that you share when you really kiss someone for the first time. Suddenly she needed more than just his lips on hers and he seemed to catch up on her mood pretty fast. Their tongues collided and began their battle for dominance, only interrupted by breaks for oxygen, and even then they didn't really break apart. His lips stayed on her the whole time, they just moved somewhere else. Along her jaw line, down her neck, over her collar bone. Their breathing was close to panting when Ziva finally opened her eyes again to find him looking at her with darkened eyes.

His expression was enough to make her tingle and she moaned into his mouth when he kissed her gain in a way that should be forbidden. Before she knew what she was doing, her hands found the buttons of his shirt and she ripped them open. He chuckled softly as she ran her hands over his chest. He had gained a little weight since the last time they'd been that close, but, frankly, she didn't care. She pushed his shirt over his shoulders and down his arms, kissing down his chest in the progress. When it was tossed somewhere next to his couch, Tony raised her head with two of his fingers to look at her.

"Are you sure? There's no going back after this...", he asked. Ziva laughed. She could already feel what effect their little make out session had on him and still he was willing to stop if she felt uncomfortable with where this was obviously heading. Instead of answering - she didn't trust her voice enough for that - she leant up and kissed him teasingly, running one hand through his hair while flipping his belt open with the other. He made a low growling sound that made her shiver rather violently in return and soon they lost themselves in heated kisses while more pieces of clothing joined Tony's shirt

**...**

In the morning Tony awoke to his arm being numb. At first he was puzzled but then he felt someone stir next to him and realized what the weight was that cut off his bloodstream. Ziva. She was really there, in his bed...wearing his OSU shirt. _Only _his OSU shirt. He smiled down at her and kissed her hair. Careful not to wake her, he got up and searched his closet for something to wear. It was 6:05 and they needed to get ready for work. To give Ziva some extra minutes of sleep, which she seemed to desperately need after her assignment, he decided to make her breakfast and wake her once he was finished.

After a quick shower he was in the kitchen and gathered all the ingredients for his special DiNozzo pancakes together. Soon the smell of maple syrup filled the air and he placed a couple of delicious pancakes on two plates. When he turned to carry them to his dining table he jumped slightly at the sight of a figure leaning against the door frame.

"Jesus, you nearly gave me a heart attack, Zi", he said overdramatically but chuckled softly.

She shrugged."Sorry."

"I made breakfast. Go sit." Tony nodded towards the dining table where he already had vase with a single purple rose put in the centre. He was glad that he hadn't thrown it away when he saw her admiring the flower.

"When did you get that? You cannot be awake that long...", she said while her fingers softly brushed along the petite petals.

Tony cleared his throat. Ziva wasn't the type to get flowers for and he certainly wasn't the flower-buying guy. Suddenly he felt nervous. "I-I got it yesterday when I...followed you." When she didn't say anything he continued to talk anyway, just so there wouldn't be an awkward silence. "I mean I knew that following you meant that I didn't trust you - which I do by the way. I trust you with my life - so when I walked past that flower store I saw that rose and I'd never seen that colour before, it was so unique, and it...it made me think of you, Ziva. So I bought it in case you got mad at me for following you. And then I saw you kissing Peter and I got angry. I wanted to throw it away then but I couldn't. I could never throw something that beautiful away."

Ziva looked at him with the softest of expressions and leant over so she could press her lips to his. And even after last night and all the intimacy that they had shared, this simple kiss meant the world to him. "Thank you", she said before she picked up her fork and took a piece of pancake into her mouth. He smugly watched as her eyes widened with surprise.

"Didn't think I could cook, huh, Miss David?", he teased and hid his grin behind the coffee cup he raised to his lips.

"Not after you called and told me that you didn't even have the ingredients for a simple salad", Ziva stated and raised another fork of food to her mouth.

"First of all, _you_ called _me_. And second of all, I was only playing dumb so you would come over."

"I can tell when you lie, you know", Ziva winked at him and he stuck his tongue out. "And maybe I would have come over anyway", she admitted after a while.

**...**

Ziva stood next to Tony as they did the dishes and the situation was very similar to the one a month ago when she'd freed him of the salad dressing on his face. Only this time she didn't have to hold anything back and was finally ready to be touched by him...especially after last night. A warm feeling settled in her stomach as images flashed through her mind.

"Get your mind out of the gutter", Tony said teasingly and nudged her in the side with his elbow.

She narrowed her eyes at him, not the least bit embarrassed. "How did you know?"

"I've seen many women wear that look, Sweetcheeks. I have that effect on them." He winked at her and she rolled her eyes in return, trying to suppress a smile.

"Well, maybe I wasn't thinking about you. Did you consider that option?"

"Ouch, Ziva. That one hurt." He clasped a hand over his heart and gave her the best puppy dog eyes. She couldn't help but smile then and closed the gap between them, kissing him softly. When she pulled away she buried her face in his chest. She'd never been the touchy-feely kind of person, but with him it was so much different. She couldn't get enough of touching him.

"I love you", she suddenly said. Her voice shook slightly but was otherwise sure and she smiled brightly as she realized that she had never meant these three words so much as she did at that exact moment. She looked up at him through her lashes and saw utter admiration cross his features for a moment before he kissed her forehead.

"You know I love you too, Zi."

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><p><strong>Jeez, cheesy much? I really hadn't intended for it to sound that soppy, I mean it screams OOC, right? I'm sorry<strong>. **Still, I'm frustrated with the situation on the show, so be kind and don't hate me for getting side-tracked by my romantic imagination.**

**On the way out...punch that review button instead of me, deal? :D  
><strong>


	9. Chapter 9

**This is the last chapter, so I really hope you'll like it. I always suck at writing endings xD**

**It's kind of epilogue-_ish_ and takes place about a week after the previous chapter...ENJOY! (:  
><strong>

_**Disclaimer: Let's play a game, shall we? It's called not owning NCIS...Hey, I won! It's so not mine!**_

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><p>Tony paced the squad room, turning the two objects in his hands. Finally he let out a deep breath and carefully placed them on his boss' desk, knowing he would understand the hidden meaning once he found them. That done he stared at them for a moment before he heard the elevator's familiar 'ding' and turned to look who was the one intruding his little moment of silent thoughtfulness. It was <em>her<em>. Of course _she_ could interrupt anytime she wanted. This whole thing had been about her after all.

About _them_.

"Hey", he said as she strolled to her desk and dropped her backpack, before turning to face him with a smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

"Hey", she echoed. He took a step towards her, reaching out to gently stroke a finger over the back of her hand, which was casually resting on her hip, and stared into her eyes. She looked right back at him, amused by the funny mood thathe was in. Neither said anything, they just stood there and got lost in each others' gaze.

Suddenly a grin broke on his face, making his eyes twinkle in a way that was just so _Tony_. He tightened the grip on her hand, squeezing it affectionately. It made her smile.

"What?", she asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Oh, nothing", his grin got even wider "I'd just really like to kiss you right now."

She chuckled and looked around to make sure that no one was there to see them and when she couldn't spot anyone she got on her tiptoes and pecked him softly on the lips. But clearly he had other intentions, because he wrapped his arms around her and kept her from pulling back before really kissing her. She made a surprised sound, but kissed him back nonetheless. It wasn't too passionate, just a sweet kiss that made both of them a little weak in the knees for all the feeling packed into it. Tony was the one to break the kiss first, a fact that surprised her more than anything.

"Tony, what is it with you today...you seem-"

"Dashingly handsome and irresistible?", he interrupted, giving her the DiNozzo-grin.

"That too." Ziva said to humour him and winked "But you also look very...happy." She raised a hand to straighten his tie and the collar of his shirt, letting her fingers caress his neck for a second before looking up at him again.

"Well, I _am_ happy. Very happy.", Tony said.

"Is it a secret or can I know why?" Ziva really was curious about what was going on with her partner. Of course it was a gorgeous day outside and particularly warm, but she didn't think Tony was that much of a weather person to be that affected by a little sunshine.

Instead of answering her his eyes softened even more and he brushed his lips to her forehead. She blushed as she understood what the reason for his light-hearted behaviour was. And considering the events of the last month she had to admit that she was really happy too. And the reason for that was currently kissing down her neck, tickling her skin with his breath.

"Tony, stop it. Someone could see us!", Ziva said in a low whisper and gently pushed him away. He looked a little bit disappointed but his smile returned almost immediately. After kissing her once more he let go and stepped back.

"Sorry", was all Tony said before he walked to his desk, sat down in his chair and started his computer.

"We really need to tell the others sometime soon", Ziva stated while mirroring his actions and watching him from the corner of her eye.

"McSpyEye is suspecting something anyway, so he won't be that surprised." Tony said casually and leant back in his chair.

"And what about the rest? Ducky, Abby...", Ziva gulped audibly, "...Gibbs?" she desperately wanted him to approve of their relationship, even though she was sure that after their conversation in the park he'd pretty much been expecting it anyway.

Tony's eyes lost focus and he seemed to zone out for a second before he looked at her again and smiled. "Abby loves us. She's gonna scream her heart out when she hears we finally managed to not screw this up after all that struggling." He paused for a moment to consider his next answer. "As for Gibbs...I'm pretty sure he'll know when he gets here." And again his eyes shone in that funny way that showed that he was up to something but wouldn't tell anyone.

Her eyes narrowed and she tilted her head slightly to the side. "How do you know that he'll know?"

"Let's just say that I gave him a little hint."

Ziva thought about what Tony had just said for a moment before letting out a small breath and nodding her head once. "So the cat is out of the hat."

"Unless you're a magician, it's a bag, Ziva, and then the animal is a bunny. But yes, they basically all know about us now." Tony corrected her, smiling fondly at her facial expression.

Just then Gibbs strolled into the bullpen, nodding his head first at Ziva then at Tony in his version of a 'good morning' and sat down at his desk. Before he could take a sip from his coffee, his phone rang and he sighed and answered it.

"Gibbs." For a moment he listened, letting his eyes wander across his desk to check if there was anything unusual, not expecting to actually find something. But then his eyes fell on a small mug with a glass jar in it and he reached out to take it in his hands. He looked from the two objects in his hand over to his Senior Field Agent's desk to find him looking at his partner in a way that unmistakably showed the change that obviously had occurred in their relationship. And the way she looked back made the usually grumpy man smile.

_Combining work and your personal life. The mug and the jar._

Suddenly he remembered that he was on the phone with someone and turned his attention back to the conversation, putting the mug down, and started taking a few short notes. "Be right there, McGee" he said before hanging up.

"What is it?" Ziva asked from her desk after hearing McGee's name.

"Dead body at Norfolk, McGee's already there. Grab your gear." Gibbs huffed, leading the way to the elevator, soon followed by his agents. When all three of them were standing in the familiar metal box Gibbs raised both his hands to gently slap Tony and Ziva on the back of the head simultaneously. When they both gave him questioning looks he smirked.

"Took ya long enough."

"Technically we have not been on a date yet, so no rules were broken", Ziva said nervously, defending their relationship. She didn't trust Gibbs' smile.

"Is that so? Well in that case..." Gibbs raised his hand to slap his Senior Field Agent again. Harder this time.

"Ouch! What the hell was that for?" Tony complained, rubbing the back of his head.

"For not taking her on a real date!" their boss huffed just as the elevator doors opened and he strolled out, followed by his confused but more than happy agents.

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><p><strong>So, that's it. Thanks for reading, reviewing, favouriting, alerting and hopefully enjoying this story! Without your request to continue the one-shot, it wouldn't have turned out like this. :D<strong>

**Wanna leave one last review on the way out? ****You are amazing!** ***_Bows_***

**- _MiRii _**_aka_**_ KillingWithAPaperClip_**

**If you want to read some more of my stuff, which I would love you to of course; I just published another one-shot which is probably going to turn into a full blown Tiva story as well, so give it a read. It's called 'Strangers' and a bit different from my usual style of writing**.


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